Page 16 of Maid for the Alien Prince

And then I began to think clearly. Now that I knew she wasn’t an assassin and that, in fact, she owed me, and by the sound of it, it was a great deal of money, then perhaps there was some other way she could repay me…

I ran my eyes over her again. She was short—or perhaps she was tall for a human, I really didn’t have much contact with them over the years—but she looked pleasing enough.

More than anything, I admired her passion and the fact she clearly cared very much for her father. That was something we shared.

But better than that, she was clearly not a trained assassin who would turn around and stab me at a moment’s notice.

Tomorrow, when Ges found me a new mate, how could I know that she wouldn’t turn out to be an assassin intent on slitting my throat too? I couldn’t—as it was Ges who had been responsible for finding Akhi in the first place.

I pulled my clothes back on, moved behind my desk, and took a seat. I motioned to the chairs opposite. “Please, sit.”

“I don’t want to sit.”

“You might. This could take some time.”

I waited until she—eventually—began to drift toward me.

She wore an expression of confusion. As she walked towards the chairs on the other side of my desk, I noticed a slight limp on one side. It was gone in an instant and I figured I had just imagined it.

She sat on the edge of the seat, as if making the point that she wasn’t exactly sitting, she was perching.

I couldn’t help but smile. “All right. So, you want to repay me for the stolen heirlooms, correct?”

Camila hissed. “No one used the S word.”

“But it was your father who stole them, correct?”

Camila ground her teeth so hard the cords popped out on her chin. “It… could be said,” she said.

“And you’re afraid he will go to prison if you don’t pay me back, correct?”

“That’s the long and short of it.”

I frowned at her. “Long? Short?”

“Yes,” she sighed, waving a hand as if it didn’t matter.

“All right. So, I’m going to make you an offer. It’s the only offer you’re going to get. If you don’t accept it, you’ll have to take the risk that your father might go to prison.”

She stared at me, focusing so intently that I thought she was trying to drill a hole through my skull.

“Have you heard of Steyatt week?”

Camila shook her head.

“It’s a period of time in our calendar where our species must mate.”

“Good for you. What does it have to do with me?”

“I had an issue with my mate this evening and I am at a loss for a replacement.”

Camila nodded as I shared the information with her, and then, very slowly, my insinuation dawned. Her eyebrows shot to the top of her face, her mouth flew open forming an O, and she almost slipped off the edge of the chair she was perched on.

“You cannot be serious!”

“I can tell you that I am very serious. Steyatt week is not to be taken lightly.”

“So find someone else! You’re a prince for God’s sake! You must have tarts falling over themselves to be with you!”

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